Self Defense Cell Phone With Projectiles

ABSTRACT

The present invention teaches an economical disposable emergency cellular telephone. A major object of this invention is a shocking self-defense capability. A further object is a cell phone which launches projectiles to deliver the shocking voltage. A further object of the invention is a new technique for having a large number of cellular phones share the same small group of access numbers and serial numbers in order to reduce the monthly charges to zero for the end consumer. This makes it more practical to use cellular phones for data transmission and monitoring applications.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 12/353,471, which is acontinuation of Ser. No. 10/219,848 filed on Aug. 14, 2002 issuing as7,483,715, which is a continuation-in-part of “Generic Number CellularTelephone” Ser. No. 09/584,326 filed on May 30, 2000 issued as U.S. Pat.No. 6,580,908 which was a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No.08/895,358 filed Jul. 16, 1997, “Disposable Emergency Cellular Phone”now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,597.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As the cell phone is often used as an emergency communication device itwould be useful to combine the cell phone with some sort of personaldefense system such as a stun gun that made synergistic use of thebattery and antenna of the phone. This has never been done. The patentof Cassarino U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,450 teaches a cell phone and variousself-defense packages put together in one box with no synergisticcommunication. He includes pepper sprays and a taser. This teaches awayfrom the instant invention. Similarly the patent of Julinot U.S. Pat.No. 5,476,192 teaches a pepper spray device disguised to look like acell phone. This also teaches away from the instant invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a and 1 b show a front and side view of the phone with theantenna collapsed.

FIG. 2 shows the side and front views of the phone with the antennaextended.

FIG. 3 shows the phone in its waterproof storage pouch.

FIG. 4 shows the basic circuitry for the phone.

FIG. 5 shows the circuitry modifications for the automatic crashresponse feature.

FIG. 6 shows the registration process to allow the user to bypass amonthly access fee.

FIG. 7 shows the physical embodiment of the stun gun version of the cellphone.

FIG. 8 shows the electrical circuitry of the stun gun cell phone.

FIG. 9 shows the high position for the safety of the stun gun cellphone.

FIG. 10 shows a low position for the safety of the stun gun cell phone.

FIG. 11 shows a side view of the low position for the safety of the stungun cell phone.

FIG. 12 shows the shocking launching barbs embodiment of the stun guncell phone

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts the phone with the antenna collapsed from a side andfront view. The basic mechanical components of the phone 10 are thespeaker and speaker section 12, the antenna 14, and the microphonesection 18. The center section 19 carries the batteries and theelectronics. It also serves as the base for the “911” button 16.

A spring 20 to automatically deploy the antenna is shown in the speakersection. In an alternative embodiment, the antenna is slid down into thephone body with a linear spring. When the 911 button is pushed, itreleases the antenna, which then slides out the end into a fullyextended position when released.

In one embodiment, the whole phone is made waterproof through the use ofwaterproof switches, microphone, and speakers.

FIG. 2 shows the identical components but with the antenna extended. Theoperation of the spring is such that the antenna is normally fullyextended.

FIG. 3 shows the phone of this embodiment in its weatherproof pouch 30.This pouch could be made of any water or weatherproof material includingvinyl, polycarbonates or other polymers. Along the front end of thepouch 30 is an embedded quick release strip 34, which has a brightlycolored large pull tab 36. For use of the phone the tab 36 is grippedand pulled down the complete length of release line 34 to open the pouchand access the phone. This then automatically deploys the antenna due tothe operation of the integral spring.

On the back of the phone pouch 30 is an attachment means. In thepreferred embodiment this is shown as a Velcro® type of mechanism 32.Alternatively it could be suction cups for glass or adhesives for metal.Further alternatives would include magnets for metal. The Velcro® worksparticularly well for the roof cloth or floor carpeting of many cars.Yet another alternative attachment mechanism would be a combination ofVelcro® and magnet for universal attachment as shown using the magnets38 embedded in the pouch.

The pouch is transparent to make the phone contents very obvious in anemergency situation.

Due to the presence of dedicated integrated circuits the electronicportion of a conventional cellular phone design is doable by anyoneskilled in the art of electrical engineering. The circuit in FIG. 4 ismeant to be broadly illustrative. The circuitry is not meant to be ingreat detail as that is no longer necessary with this art. Speaker 40 iscoupled through capacitors 42 and 44 to audio controller 60. The audiocontroller 60 receives a demodulated audio line 62 from the RF sectionchip 66. That RF section chip receives the RF signal from antenna 68.Microswitch 17 is shown connected to the power supply chip forautomatically turning on the phone after the antenna is deployed asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Microphone 46 is coupled through capacitors 48 and 50 and resistors 52,54, 56, and 58 into the audio controller 60. The audio controller thensends the “audio out” signal on line 64 into the RF section 66 for finaltransmission out on antenna 68. When the call button 16 is depressed themicroprocessor microcontroller 70 interprets this and activates theappropriate sequences and the digital controller 72 would then give theappropriate controls to the audio controller 60. Digital controller 72is clocked by a crystal oscillator comprising capacitors 74 and 76,crystal 78, and resistor 80. zAll of the electronic components arepowered by battery 76 through the power supply chip 74.

A representative audio controller is the TCM 8010 of Texas Instruments,P.O. Box 655303, Dallas, Tex. 75265. A representative RF section IC isthe TRF 1015 from Texas Instruments. There are numerous manufacturers ofmicroprocessors or microcontrollers. Sample devices are the 8051 or 8032available from numerous electronic manufacturers. A representative ofthe digital controller is the TCM 8002 from Texas Instruments.Representative power supply ICs are the TPS9013 or the TPS9104, both ofTexas Instruments.

The battery 76 is a permanently installed primary cell such as analkaline, lithium, or manganese dioxide cell although many other typescould work. The cell must provide high peak currents in transmission butotherwise is not required to have extremely high longevity. By having apermanent primary cell there is an economy over the use of an expensiverechargeable cell and also over the use of a changeable primary cell dueto the expense of the battery holders chambers and doors. These batteryholders, chambers, and doors for a battery chamber also introducereliability problems. As an alternative embodiment the battery could bea fixed or removable thermal battery or any practical battery.

Microswitch 17 is activated by the antenna springing out and thusautomatically turning on the device. FIG. 5 depicts the circuitmodifications to allow for the automatic crash activation feature. Thethree-axis acceleration sensor 100 will detect the sudden accelerationfrom a crash and pass this on to three-channel amplifier 102 and then onto the microprocessor and microcontroller 70. If a sufficient force isdetected then the device will turn on automatically and begin pulsingthrough transistor 104 to pulse integral light 106. The light 106 isalso used to light up the 911 button after the antenna is deployed. Themicroprocessor microcontroller will also signal the rapid beepingthrough the phone speaker 40, which is shown in FIG. 4.

If the phone is not operated within 5 minutes of the “crash” then itautomatically turns off to save battery life. Alternatively the phonecould include a “hang-up” button which could also stop the flashing andpulsing.

Suitable acceleration sensors are available from Analog Devices ofNorwich, Mass.

FIG. 6 shows the flow chart for the operation of the phone withparticular attention to the unique feature that allows the operation ofthe phone without the customer having to pay a monthly access fee for aprivate number.

The provider (distributor) of the disposable emergency cellular phoneswill pay a monthly fee for a few phone numbers. Each of these phonenumbers (mobile identification number [MN]) comes with an electronicserial number (ESN) which will be transmitted with the MN in order toregister to the cellular system. (A conventional cellular phone alsotransmits its MN and a unique ESN, which it registers. The ESN isunpublished and is matched with the phone to minimize fraudulent usage.)One feature of this invention is that thousands of the disposableemergency phones could share a small set of MINs and matching ESNs.

Assume that the average call requires 5 minutes. The table below givesthe number of MINs required for a smoothed (average) load as a functionof the number of subscribers. The last column gives the estimated numberof MINs required to reduce waits as call volume will not be perfectlyconstant.

1 number of MINs needed for MINs needed to subscribers average loadminimize waits 100 1 3 200 1 5 500 2 8 1,000 4 12 2,000 7 17 5,000 18 3010,000 35 49 20,000 70 85 50,000 174 190 100,000 348 364 200,000 695 712500,000 1,737 1,753 1,000,000 3,473 3,490 2,000,000 6,945 6,9625,000,000 17,362 17,378 10,000,000 34,723 34,740

In operation, the first step is to wait for the 911 button depression200. Step 202 is to register with a MN and ESN. Step 204 is to verifythat registration (log on) is established. If it is established then themethod proceeds on to step 206 which is to transmit the 911 number. Thenstep 208 begins a timer. Finally, at step 210 the device will disablefurther transmissions when the timer reaches 60 minutes. In analternative embodiment, a counter is used to limit the number of 911calls to a small fixed number, say 5. The total talking time would thenbe limited only by the battery life and the patience of the 911operators. If at step 204 registration was not established then themethod proceeds to step 212, which is to verify that a carrier signal ispresent. If no carrier is detected then the method returns to step 202to attempt registration again. If the carrier is detected then themethod proceeds to step 214 and increments to the next MN (phone number)and ESN (serial number). It then attempts another registration in step216. The reason for the attempt for different numbers is that it isconceivable that two customers would both be trying to make a 911 callat the exact same time. Were that to occur, the first caller wouldnormally lock out that number nationwide and prevent the second callerfrom getting through. Thus a disposable cellular phone provider wouldhave a few numbers that a minimal monthly service fee is paid for. Thesystem could try the MINs and ESNs (phone and serial numbers) in a fixedsequence or a random fashion.

Alternatively the phone could simply log on with a public phone numberand transmit a 311 or 911 call since the FCC requires phone companies toaccept 311 and 911 calls regardless of the account status.

FIG. 7 shows the physical embodiment of the stun gun in this version ofthe cell phone. The basic phone 300 has a conventional key pad 302 andread-out display 304 along with the antenna 306. There is also theon-off button 308 as standard.

There is a left side high (mechanical) resistance push button 310 toenable the flashlight. Also there is a right side push button 311 toenable the electrical stunning operation when used in conjunction withthe switch 310. When the flashlight is enabled then the battery from thecell phone is connected to high intensity light bulb 312. When bothswitches 310 and 311 are enabled simultaneously a high voltage isdeveloped between the pseudo antenna tip 314 and the tip of the normalantenna 316. The angle between the tips 314 and 316 is very important asit allows the shock to be delivered from the operator's right hand andangled to attack the arm or hand of an attacker without having to have afull perpendicular contact.

FIG. 8 shows the synergistic operation of the circuitry. We begin withthe battery 320, which is connected to the conventional cell phonecircuitry 322, which then drives the conventional antenna 306 fortransmission. When switch 311 is depressed then the battery power 320 isdelivered directly to the light bulb 312 to cast an intense beam.

When both switches 311 and 310 are depressed then battery current isdelivered to oscillator 324. Oscillator 324 provides an AC current totransformer 326 which develops a high voltage output which is rectifiedby diode 328 and stored in capacitor 330. In this way a voltage is builtup to over 1000 volts on capacitor 330. When the voltage exceeds 1000volts on capacitor 330 then the hermetically sealed spark gap 332 willbreak down and deliver a short intense current through transformer 334.The output of transformer 334 (of about 25,000 to 50,000 volts) willthen appear between contacts 306 (which is the conventional antenna) and314 which is the shocking probe “pseudo antenna.” The hermeticallysealed spark gap 336 limits that voltage to prevent damage to thecircuitry. The Zener diodes 337 serve to protect the cell phonecircuitry from the effects of this high voltage and keep the antenna 306closer to a ground potential.

FIG. 9 shows the high location of the safety switch. In order to enablethe shocking circuitry the operator must depress the round switch 700hard. This is difficult to do if the phone face is against the side ofthe head as it would be for normal phone usage. Thus this configurationreduces the risk of the operator shocking herself The switch 700 couldrequire a second operation of lifting a hood over it before it could bedepressed. This would provide a double safety feature.

FIG. 10 shows a low position for a safety tip 702. Here the thumb endmust actually lift the safety hood at the bottom of the keypad. Once thehood is lifted, the thumb must depress the internal switch 704 togenerate the shock.

FIG. 11 shows the side view of the low position safety in operation.Here keyboard 302 is lifted by the thumb 706 being inserted under thelip 702. The thumb then depresses switch 704 to activate the shockingcircuitry.

FIG. 12 shows the embodiment using launched barbs. The barb mechanism720 consists of a head 722 and a shaft 724 connected to a coiled loop offine wire 728. The barb is launched by coil spring 726 upon command ofthe operator. The barbs are released either by a mechanical latchmovement driven directly by the shock delivery switch or by a solenoidcontrolled by the switch. The voltage sources are node 314 and thebottom “common” line in FIG. 8.

1. A cellular phone comprising: a cellular communication circuitryconnected to a battery; a first antenna connected to the cellularcommunication circuitry for receiving and transmitting cellularcommunications; a second antenna; a first switch connected to thebattery and a second switch connected to the first switch; and a shockcreating circuitry connected to the second switch, the shock creatingcircuitry comprising at least one transformer, the at least onetransformer in electrical communication with the first antenna and thesecond antenna, wherein when the first switch and the second switch areboth closed, a current flows through the transformer creating a highvoltage drop between the first antenna and the second antenna.
 2. Thecellular phone of claim 1, wherein the high voltage drop is betweenabout 25,000 and 50,000 volts.
 3. The cellular phone of claim 1, whereinthe shock creating circuitry further comprises: an oscillator thatreceives current from the battery; a first transformer connected to theoscillator; a capacitor connected to the first transformer; and a secondtransformer connected to the capacitor and in electrical communicationwith the first antenna and the second antenna.
 4. The cellular phone ofclaim 3, wherein a voltage is built up in the capacitor and once thevoltage exceeds a predetermined amount, a spark gap between thecapacitor and the second transformer breaks down and the current flowsthrough the second transformer.
 5. The cellular phone of claim 4,wherein the predetermined amount is about 1000 volts.
 6. The cellularphone of claim 1, further comprising means for protecting the cellularcommunication circuitry from the high voltage drop.
 7. The cellularphone of claim 6, wherein the means for protecting the cellularcommunication circuitry from the high voltage drop are zener diodes incommunication with the cellular communication circuitry and the shockcreating circuitry.
 8. The cellular phone of claim 1, furthercomprising: a display in communication with the cellular communicationcircuitry.
 9. The cellular phone of claim 1, wherein the first switch isactivated by a first push button and the second switch is activated by asecond push button.
 10. A personal safety device comprising: a cellularphone comprising: a battery; a cellular communication circuitryconnected to the battery; a display in communication with the cellularcommunication circuitry; and a first antenna connected to the cellularcommunication circuitry for receiving and transmitting cellularcommunications; a shocker comprising: a second antenna; a first switchconnected to the battery and a second switch connected to the firstswitch; and at least one transformer connected to the second switch, theat least one transformer in electrical communication with the firstantenna and the second antenna, wherein when the first switch and thesecond switch are both closed, the current flows through the transformercreating a high voltage drop between the first antenna and the secondantenna.
 11. The personal safety device of claim 10, wherein the firstswitch is activated by a first push button on an outer surface of thecellular phone and the second switch is activated by a second pushbutton on the outer surface of the cellular phone.
 12. The personalsafety device of claim 10, wherein the high voltage drop is betweenabout 25,000 and 50,000 volts.
 13. A cellular phone comprising a powersource, a cellular communications antenna, a cellular communicationscircuitry, and a high voltage circuitry connected to the power source sothat the phone will generate a high voltage shock for self defensepurposes but also allow normal cell phone communication.
 14. Thecellular phone of claim 13, wherein the high voltage circuitrycomprises: a second antenna; a first switch connected to the powersource and a second switch connected to the first switch; and at leastone transformer connected to the second switch, the at least onetransformer in electrical communication with the first antenna and thesecond antenna, wherein when the first switch and the second switch areboth closed, the current flows through the transformer creating the highvoltage shock between the cellular communications antenna and the secondantenna.
 15. The cellular phone of claim 14, wherein the high voltageshock is between about 25,000 and 50,000 volts.